Click the link below to see our wholesalers fantastic offers. A lot of these are items that our customers buy regularly so will help keep down those bills.
The Angell Pets team
We still hold that this is the best quality food you can feed you dog (and cat) without the mess, hassle and cost of feeding a raw BARF diet. However we have suffered some serious supply issues over the last four or five months that still have yet to be resolved. This has led to us being out of stock in our pet shop Gloucester of one or two items when our customers needed them. This si not a situation we could allow to continue. On top of this we have also been informed of a significant price increase from the manufacturers. This has been blamed on rising costs of ingredient but interestingly coincides with the inclusion in the new recipe of cheaper ingredients (offal). Again we feel, as a responsible supplier, that we must do something to offer our customers a choice. Do they continue with Orijen and Acana and risk further or future supply issues (the food comes from Canada and is shipped over in containers, with all the potential for something to go wrong) or switch to a British made food.
We have been searching for an alternative British product of the same quality. Unfortunately this does not exist. There is not a manufacturer in the UK capable of making food to the exacting standards of Orijen with the same top quality ingredients. however there is now a UK made (and mainly sourced) food that comes very close.
We now stock Canagan dog food in our pet shop Gloucester. This is a freshly prepared food (Orinen is made from 50% fresh ingredients) that is similar in quality and ingredients. It is 60/40% meat to vegetables (the same as Acana) whereas Orijen is 80/20% so it should suit those dogs that Orijen was just too rich for. It is also less expensive than the new priced Orijen. As a comparison Orijen (at the new price soon to come into force) will be £5.31/kg whereas the equivalent Canagan will be £4.49 (this is after their most recent price increase that comes into force today).
Canagan is UK manufactured and the vast majority of the ingredients are UK sourced (all the meat). We stock a full range of sizes and flavours in our pet shop Gloucester. If you wish to feed your dog a good quality (not like the cheap copies – another one of which I have just been offered as I sit and write this), grain free, natural diet but cannot afford the latest price increase from Orijen and Acana or risk intermittent supplies then Canagan is the food for you. We also have some special introductory offers available to anyone trying it for the first time (£5 and £10 vouchers)
The Angell Pets Team
Get them whilst we still have a few in stock. Once they are gone they are gone.
Pedigree vital protection adult 15kg £18.99 (pets at home price £25.49) Bakers adult complete 15kg £18.99 (pets at home price 2 for £40), Omega Tasty 15kg £13.99 (petsupermarket.co.uk price £16.36 plus delivery), Iams cat 3kg £9.99 (Asda price £14)
The Angell Pets Team
Mitcheldean Mutts are holding an online photo show to raise money for a Kenyan Orphanage. We are sponsoring two of the classes ” Most unusual friend” and “most handsome dog”. I have the dubious honour of judging as well. Go to their Facebook page to enter your photo. Just a bit of fun in the name of a good cause.
The Angell Pets Team
Should you buy pets for Christmas presents? On the face of it this is a no brainer. Pets are for life – not just for Christmas is a phrase that is parroted everywhere and in principal seems obvious. However the phrase is misused these days. What is meant by it is that the pet shouldn’t be bought as you would buy say, the latest trendy toy.
A child see’s a toy that comes on the market and remarks to his/her parent that that’s the one for them, they will be sooo good if only they could have one for Christmas. By the time they open the gift on Christmas morning the fascination has already gone, their friends have moved onto another model, they use it for a couple of days and you hardly ever see it again until you find it amongst all the other rubbish under the bed. If this is your reason for buying a pet at Christmas (or at any other time of year for that matter) just don’t. The amount of times I have had parents and kids in the shop and mum has left convinced that little johnny would do all the housework for the next twenty years if only he can have a rat/rabbit/snake/spider, he’s never wanted anything so much in his life. When we say we’ll see you next week and they return and when shown his favourite ever animal, little johnny says “Yeah great, can I have a look at…” whatever has now caught his fancy; mum realises her lucky escape. At Christmas parents are just as convinced that because they have been in the shop and their child has expressed the same level of interest, on Christmas morning they will still be as interested. Pets should not be bought at Christmas for these superficial reasons.
However a pet, the housing and all the correct equipment can be expensive. If a child and parent come in repeatedly throughout the year and the child (and the same is true for us big kids too) has retained their interest all year but the parent cannot afford to buy it now, in the middle of summer and then get something else at Christmas there is nothing wrong with delaying the purchase until then.
The important thing about buying a pet is what is informing the decision, not what time of year it is. Pets should never be purchased on a whim. So buying a pet for someone because you can’t think of anything else, because someone mentioned they “like” rabbits, because you are “sure” they will like it, is definitely wrong. You can put the jumper someone bought you in a drawer and forget it, you can’t do that with a pet. The person you bought it for is going to have to clean it, feed it, provide it with exercise, enrichment etc. Are you sure they will want or be able to in a few months (or years, or decades!). That should really be their decision, made in the cold light of day with all the information in front of them, not forced on them on Christmas morning. Also children (and a lot of adults I meet) are fickle. You have to be absolutely sure that they will fulfil their commitment and responsibility to the animal. This is best ascertained over a period of time, with repeated visits.
So the basic message is don’t buy a “surprise” present of an animal on a whim at any time of year. The chances of it being not wanted are too high. If you are convinced your recipient really wants a pet and has shown consistently they have the ability and the will to look after it properly over a period of time, you have done you research and know what you and/or they are taking on then don’t let others make you feel guitly about combining a purchase they really want with Christmas. It should really be “A pet is for life – not just for any particular day of the year”
The Angell Pets Team
There is growing evidence that the behavioural patterns of our pets are changing alongside the behaviour of the owners. Human obesity is rising and so is obesity in dogs and cats. Why is this?
Research is showing that in dogs, behaviour is reflecting that of people in general. We and our dogs are becoming less active. 10 years ago the majority of dogs were ranked as active. Now the majority are ranked as inactive. However there is more to it than that. Cats are also becoming generally larger. It has been shown that the daily energy requirements of both have fallen yet the energy intake is rising. A lot of this is down to a change in attitude toward pets. Not that long ago pets were considered as an adjunct to the family, lots of people had them but they were always a seperate entity. Nowadays more and more of us consider and treat our pets as members of the family. Just look at Christmas time. Years ago it would be considered normal to buy a gift for your children but a bit odd to buy one for your dog. Now most people would consider it the norm and in my house I would be in a lot of trouble if I didn’t get the dogs something. We are tending to treat the pet as we would treat our kids and this is not always good for the animal.
One of the commonest mistakes people make with their pet is assuming the pet will regulate its own intake of food. They will not. We are sadly familiar with documentaries from the USA about super-sized people that can no longer even get out of bed. Often the parents of these individuals are seen making statements such as “He just can’t lose weight, I hate seeing him like this!”. Well he can no longer get out of bed so he is entirely dependant on you for his food intake. If you don’t give him the food he can’t eat it. The same is true for our dogs and cats. If they are overweight it is because we have fed them too much.
Unfortunately most people are unaware of the feeding guidelines for their animal even though they are there on the reverse of the bag. Also many people like to give their pet treats. This is fine, as long as the equivalent amount of food is removed from their normal meals but this rarely happens. Many of the cheaper treats are very high in fats and sugars. Most of us would consciously monitor how many sweets our kids were eating but not even think about what we were giving to the pet.
On top of the “human error” factors there are other changes in pet care that are also contributing to obesity.
Neutering increases the risk of obesity in cats and dogs; they slow down and their bodies change (hormone reduction). 54% of dogs and 92% of cats are neutered in the UK.
Age plays a part. As a dog or cat gets older they are no longer growing and their activity naturally reduces so their energy requirements go down and so should their calorie intake.
Indoor cats are far less active than outdoor ones so should be fed on lower calorie food or just fed less.
Medication can increase the risk of obesity by increasing the appetite (steroids) or slowing the metabolism.
Other animals in the house can actually reduce the risk. One or two cats have an increased risk of obesity, three to six in a house reduces risk as does sharing a house with a dog. I wonder why? Any cat sharing a house with my dog would have the physique of an Olympic athlete!
If you answer yes to too many questions in the first list below and no to too many in the second list you probably have an overweight pet. The good news is that doing something about it is easy. You just have to change your ways. Less energy in, more energy out reduces weight. More energy in, less out increases weight and you are the arbiter. Fortunately it is all our fault, as this means we can do something about it.
Don’t worry if you have answered yes to one or two you know you shouldn’t have or no to some you should have said yes to. We all do it a bit. Just make sure you don’t give too many wrong answers or your pet will suffer. Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, liver problems, joint problems, urinary and bladder problems, diabetes and a reduction in overall lifespan and as the pet owners we are totally responsible. Of course obesity also increases the vets bill!
Obesity is a growing problem, my vet is so sick of seeing overweight dogs she says she greets 80% of owners in the consulting room with a “Before we go on, your dog is fat – read this” and hands them a leaflet on obesity before even asking what is wrong. She says it’s like a breath of fresh air when someone comes in with a dog that is in good condition and she doesn’t have to give the “fat” talk.
How do you tell if your dog is getting overweight? It is harder than you think. When the majority of dogs are overweight, comparing yours to others is just not that helpful. I even look trim next to some people. There are some things you can easily check though.
For any advice on gauging your dog or cats overall condition or on helping to lose weight please do not hesitate to call in and speak to us.
The Angell Pets Team
